21. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock Option Activity

The Company has made stock option grants to outside Directors and certain officers under the Stock Plans. All option shares granted have a ten-year life. The option shares granted to the outside Directors vest over one year, while the option shares granted to officers vest ratably over four years. The exercise price of each option award was determined based upon the fair market value of the Common Stock on the respective grant dates. Compensation expense is determined based upon the fair value of the option shares on the respective dates of grant, as determined utilizing a recognized option pricing methodology. There was no compensation expense recorded during the year ended December 31, 2018, 2017, or 2016 as all options were fully vested prior to the year ended December 31, 2016.

There were no stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to stock options granted under the Stock Plans, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Options			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Years		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding at January 1, 2017		209,254		$	15.48
Options granted		—			—
Options exercised		(51,708	)		15.35
Options that expired prior to exercise		—			—
Options outstanding at December 31, 2017		157,546		$	15.53		1.7	$	1,027

Options granted		—			—
Options exercised		(66,372	)		17.10
Options that expired prior to exercise		(18,779	)		17.50
Options outstanding at December 31, 2018		72,395		$	13.58		2.0	$	246
Options vested and exercisable at December 31, 2018		72,395		$	13.58		2.0	$	246

Information related to stock options under the Stock Plans during each period is as follows:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Cash received for option exercise cost	$	954	$	792	$	3,498
Income tax benefit recognized ⁽¹⁾		44		52		93
Intrinsic value of options exercised		167		314		826

⁽¹⁾	Effective January 1, 2017, income tax benefits were recognized as discrete items in income tax expense in accordance to ASU 2016-09. Prior to January, 1, 2017, income tax benefits were recognized through additional paid in capital.

The range of exercise prices and weighted-average remaining contractual lives of both outstanding and vested options (by option exercise cost) as of December 31, 2018 were as follows:

	Outstanding Options			Vested Options
	Amount		Weighted Average Contractual Years Remaining	Amount		Weighted Average Contractual Years Remaining
Exercise Prices:
$ 8.34		8,869	0.3		8,869	0.3
$ 12.75		19,827	1.3		19,827	1.3
$ 13.86		12,220	3.3		12,220	3.3
$ 15.46		31,479	2.3		31,479	2.3
Total		72,395	2.0		72,395	2.0

Restricted Stock Awards

The Company has made restricted stock award grants to outside Directors and certain officers under the Stock Plans. Typically awards to outside Directors fully vest on the first anniversary of the grant date, while awards to officers may vest in equal installments over a four-year period or at the end of the four-year requisite period. All awards were made at the fair value of the Common Stock on the award date. Compensation expense on all restricted stock awards was thus recorded during the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 based upon the fair value of the shares on the respective dates of grant.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to the restricted stock awards granted under the Stock Plans, and changes during the periods indicated:

	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested allocated shares outstanding at January 1, 2017		152,409		$	16.56
Shares granted		122,329			19.61
Shares vested		(87,455	)		16.43
Shares forfeited		(36,716	)		17.65
Unvested allocated shares at December 31, 2017		150,567			18.85

Shares granted		63,612			19.72
Shares vested		(56,742	)		18.19
Shares forfeited		(9,202	)		18.84
Unvested allocated shares at December 31, 2018		148,235		$	19.48

Information related to restricted stock awards under the Stock Plans during each period is as follows:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Compensation expense recognized	$	1,240	$	1,358	$	1,549
Income tax benefit recognized		22		95		78
Weighted average remaining years for which compensation expense is to be recognized		2.4		2.7		1.6

LTIP

During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, the Company established long term incentive award programs to certain officers. The program for 2018 and 2017 will ultimately be settled in performance shares only and the program for 2016 will ultimately be settled in both cash and performance shares.

For each award, threshold (50% of target), target (100% of target) and maximum (150% of target) payment opportunities are eligible to be earned over a three-year performance period based on the Company's performance on certain measurement goals. Both the measurement goals and the peer group utilized to determine the Company's performance are established at the onset of the measurement period and cannot be altered subsequently.

At December 31, 2018, a liability totaling $177 was recorded for expected future payments under the long-term cash incentive payment plan. This liability reflected the expectation of the most likely payment outcome determined for each individual incentive award (based upon both period-to-date actual and estimated future results for each award period). During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, total expense recognized related to LTIP cash awards were $25, $190, and $443, respectively.

Performance based shares awarded to certain officers meet the criteria for equity-based accounting. The following table presents a summary of activity related to performance based equity awards and changes during the period:

	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Maximum aggregate share payout at January 1, 2017		24,730		$	17.35
Shares granted		71,976			19.75
Shares forfeited		(27,482	)		18.99
Maximum aggregate share payout at December 31, 2017		69,224			19.19

Shares granted		81,353			18.55
Shares vested		(3,536	)		18.83
Shares forfeited		(26,161	)		18.62

Maximum aggregate share payout at December 31, 2018		120,880		$	18.90

Minimum aggregate share payout		2,276		$	17.35
Likely aggregate share payout		51,508		$	19.05

Compensation expense recorded for performance based equity awards was $207, $329, and $57 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.

Sales Incentive Awards

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company established the SIP, a sales incentive award program for certain officers, which meets the criteria for equity-based accounting. For each quarter an individual can earn their shares based on their sales performance in that quarter. The shares then vest one year from the quarter in which they are earned. Shares of Common Stock are issued on the grant date and held as unvested stock awards until the end of the performance period. They are issued at the maximum opportunity in order to ensure that an adequate number of shares are allocated for shares expected to vest at the end of the performance period.

The following table presents a summary of activity related to performance based equity awards, and changes during the period then ended:

	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Maximum aggregate share payout at January 1, 2018		—		$	—
Shares granted		21,736			18.4
Shares vested		—			—
Shares forfeited		(13,585	)		18.4
Maximum aggregate share payout at December 31, 2018		8,151		$	18.4
Minimum aggregate share payout		—			—
Expected aggregate share payout		2,651		$	18.4

Compensation expense recorded for sales incentive based equity awards was $77 for the year ended December 31, 2018.